The era of accelerated T+1 settlement of US stocks: the time difference dilemma of Asia-Pacific investors and traditional financial institutions are competing to use stablecoins to create new opportunities for cross-border real-time settlement

Imagine a scenario: when a fund based in Hong Kong needs to deploy funds in Tokyo immediately after clearing in New York, traditional bank transfers may be slow due to business hours and clearing cycles.

Author: Aiying Team

From Aiying's perspective, the global stablecoin landscape is undergoing a subtle transformation. The once clearly delineated traditional banks and crypto asset issuers are now intertwined, with each side having a presence in the other, creating a diverse, volatile, and dynamic financial landscape. In specific regulatory environments outside the US, Paxos' stablecoins - including Lift Dollar (USDL) issued in Abu Dhabi and Global Dollar (USDG) launched in Singapore - are no longer just digital tokens, but have become bridges connecting the traditional financial and crypto worlds. The reserve assets of these stablecoins are primarily short-term US Treasuries, giving them a rare credit profile within the crypto spectrum.

From the perspective of infrastructure and service provision, Aiying believes that Standard Chartered's involvement is eye-catching. The bank recently announced that it will provide Paxos' offshore stablecoins with multi-faceted support, including cash management, trading, and custody. This not only represents the traditional financial powers extending an olive branch to the emerging crypto frontier, but also reveals their determination to seize the high ground in the new financial ecosystem. At the same time, DBS Bank in Singapore has also built a backend custody and fund management platform for Paxos' Global Dollar (USDG) issued in Singapore. Subtly, a distributed, cross-regional stablecoin superhighway is taking shape.

On the other hand, Zodia Markets - a startup under Standard Chartered - is trying to use stablecoins as a lever to alleviate the time difference pain points that have emerged in the Asia-Pacific region after the implementation of the US T+1 securities settlement system. Imagine a scenario: when a fund based in Hong Kong needs to deploy funds in Tokyo immediately after clearing in New York, traditional bank transfers may be slow due to business hours and clearing cycles. The advantage of stablecoins is that they can be seamlessly transferred at any time, like an aerial financial corridor across the oceans, allowing funds to flow unimpeded by time zone differences, solving the invisible barriers erected by clearing times and geographical factors. In this way, the solid walls of the traditional financial system and the boundless wilderness envisioned by crypto technology are beginning to interweave into a complex and thriving forest: there are ancient cedars as well as new vines, together forming a diverse and vibrant ecosystem.

As we shift our focus slightly from the interaction between Paxos and Standard Chartered, another eye-catching news thread is quietly unfolding: Circle and the world's largest crypto exchange Binance have unexpectedly "joined hands". Circle's USDC has always been Coinbase's old partner, with deep-rooted interests between the two, and Coinbase has even benefited handsomely from the interest on USDC reserves. However, Binance's entry has surprised many. In the past, Binance relied on the BUSD issued by Paxos to conquer the stablecoin landscape, but due to regulatory turmoil (according to Aiying's insider information, it was reportedly reported by Circle), BUSD has encountered suspension, and the power structure in the crypto world is about to change. Now, Binance has decided to open USDC to its 2.4 billion users and convert part of its own funds into USDC reserves, which is tantamount to pushing Circle's coin onto a broader stage.

This series of actions reflects a deeper change in the industry's logic: Against the backdrop of tightening US regulations and the impending European MiCA regulations, a trend of "compliance first, cross-border convenience" is accelerating. Whether it's Paxos sharing the returns on its reserve government bonds with partners, aiming to challenge the hegemony of USDT and USDC with its Global Dollar, or Circle and Binance joining forces to allow USDC to penetrate global markets, they are all shaking the original geopolitical landscape of stablecoins. The stimulating interest game, the hidden behind-the-scenes incentives, and the potential market reshuffle are all embedding a new rhythm into the financial system: sometimes long sentences that weave a new architectural framework like silken threads, and sometimes short sentences that strike like echoes in the crypto forest.

In this new order, regulators and market players are constantly testing each other's bottom lines. The entanglement between Paxos and Binance over BUSD has gradually faded as USDC has made a strong entry. While courting Binance, Circle has also left Coinbase, its old partner, pondering - after all, if Binance's huge capital drives the rise of USDC, how much benefit can Coinbase still reap? And those traditional banks that want to maintain stability, such as Deutsche Bank, are also trying to get a piece of the crypto service pie. All the participants are like a group of dancers, dancing in the complex interplay of lights and shadows, rotating, intersecting, retreating, and advancing, with a rhythm that is sometimes urgent and sometimes changeable.

Ultimately, this multi-faceted narrative is still being written. Whether it's USDG, USDL, USDC, USDT, or other yet-to-be-named future stablecoins, they are like suddenly appearing stars in the sky, injecting new energy into the financial universe that was once centered on fiat currencies and traditional clearing cycles. The world is witnessing this financial experiment woven by regulation, technology, interests, and innovation. Its pace is sometimes slow, sometimes fast, its language sometimes complex, sometimes simple, its pattern sometimes orderly, sometimes chaotic. It is in this constantly changing, uncertain, and surprising multidimensional scenario that the global stablecoin ecosystem is gradually taking on a new shape.

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